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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 13, 2014 -- Good Start Genetics®, Inc., an innovative molecular diagnostics company harnessing a powerful, proprietary next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) capability, today announced that the company has signed a coverage agreement with Tufts Health Plan for its GoodStart Select™ carrier screening test.

The information provided through carrier screening is often used to help guide reproductive decisions, so it is important that the information physicians and prospective parents receive from these tests is not only accurate, but comprehensive as well. The agreement covers the full menu of carrier screening tests developed by Good Start Genetics to screen for all 23 disorders recommended by leading medical societies. Tufts Health Plan is one of the nation’s most highly rated health plans serving nearly one million members in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“We are pleased that Tufts Health Plan has recognized that GoodStart Select provides highly accurate, actionable test results to physicians and their patients,” stated Don Hardison, president and chief executive officer of Good Start Genetics. “Our next-generation sequencing platform has been proven to yield higher detection rates and reduced residual risk, irrespective of patient ethnicity. We are very pleased to be working with Tufts Health Plan and will continue to work with other payors across the country to ensure broad access to our NGS-based GoodStart Select carrier screening.”

About Tufts Health Plan

Tufts Health Plan is a nonprofit organization nationally recognized for its commitment to providing innovative, high-quality healthcare coverage. The plan offers members and employers an array of health management programs, which support evidence-based approaches to health and wellness. Tufts Health Plan is one of the few health insurers in Massachusetts to participate in the commercial, Medicare and Medicaid/subsidized markets, offering coverage across the life span regardless of age or circumstance. Its HMO and PPO plans are continually ranked in the top 10 of insurance plans in the United States by the NCQA* placing them in the top 1% of health plans in the country. Its Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO earned a 4.5 star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2014, putting it among the top 5% of Medicare plans nationally. Network Health, a subsidiary of Tufts Health Plan, is ranked third in the country for Medicaid plans**. Tufts Health Plan recently became the first health plan in the Northeast, and one of only 20 health care organizations in the United States, to receive the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Wellness & Health Promotion (WHP) Accreditation.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, Tufts Health Plan also serves members in Rhode Island.

GoodStart Select is Good Start Genetics’ menu of carrier screening tests that, for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, detects many more disease-causing mutations than any other routine carrier screening test, regardless of patient ethnicity. After years of development and rigorous validation, Good Start Genetics has harnessed the power of its sophisticated technologies, including next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS), to provide highly accurate and actionable tests resulting in higher mutation detection rates and fewer missed carriers. Good Start offers genetic screening tests for all disorders recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), and leading Jewish advocacy groups.

To support the company’s gold standard genetic screening capabilities, Good Start has a dedicated team of customer care specialists, board certified medical geneticists and genetic counselors who provide step-by-step support, from test selection through results, analysis and reporting. For these reasons, reproductive health specialists and their patients can have the highest degree of confidence in their genetic carrier screening results.

About Good Start Genetics, Inc.

Good Start Genetics is an innovative molecular diagnostics company harnessing a powerful, proprietary next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) capability combined with other technologies to deliver best-in-class tests for routine genetic screening. Through its GoodStart Select™ offering, the company provides the most comprehensive and clinically actionable set of tests for known and novel mutations that cause inherited diseases. Good Start’s NGS capabilities can be applied to multiple disease areas, including pre-conception carrier screening in the in-vitro fertilization setting. For more information, please visit www.goodstartgenetics.com.